Measuring the impact of Sprawl.

Sprawl versus compact development --it's a complicated dichotomy, and a crucial argument in the study of sustainable urban development. The difference between the two approaches has a big impact on the quality of life in America, according to Measuring Sprawl 2014, a new study from Smart Growth America.

In 2002, Smart Growth America released Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact, a landmark study that has been widely used by researchers to examine the costs and benefits of sprawling development. Peer-reviewed research has linked sprawl to physical inactivity, obesity, traffic fatalities, poor air quality, residential energy use, emergency response times, teenage driving, lack of social capital, and private-vehicle commute distances and times.

The new study updates that research and analyzes development patterns in 221 metropolitan areas and 994 counties in the United States as of 2010, looking to see which communities are more compact and connected and which are more sprawling. Researchers used four primary factors--residential and employment density; neighborhood mix of homes, jobs and services; strength of activity centers and downtowns; and accessibility of the street network--to evaluate development in these areas and assign a Sprawl Index score to each. This...